Top Stories of 2013

Posted: 5:00 AM, December 26, 2013Updated: 5:00 AM, December 26, 2013

12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. The years seem to go by so fast and 2013 was no different. Of course, the fast-paced South Florida lifestyle does nothing to slow down the clock; it only tends to crank things up a notch. It all means that one day's big news story quickly becomes yesterday's memory. What's so important to you today, may easily be forgotten tomorrow. But don't worry, we've got you covered when it comes to remembering the highs and lows of 2013. It was a year filled with the serious and outrageous, shocks and surprises and the fun and fantastic. So without any further ado, here are the Top 10 Stories of 2013.

What started as a rowdy gathering of Miami Heat fans watching their beloved team in the NBA Finals took just seconds to turn into all-out chaos.

There were a lot of things that Wanda McGowan probably wanted to accomplish on the morning of October 12. Getting stuck on an open drawbridge and having her picture sent around the world probably wasn't one of them.

McGowan's trip to the skies over the New River began innocently enough as a participant in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk in Fort Lauderdale.

But in a scene ripped directly from a Bugs Bunny or Roadrunner cartoon script, the 55-year-old took a wrong turn and found herself crossing a railroad drawbridge... and that's when it got interesting.

Almost immediately, the untendered bridge began to open, leaving McGowan with only one option; hang on for dear life. Like a pink-festooned Spider-Man, McGowan serenely clung to the bridge; never moving, never flinching a muscle.

However, McGowan's journey to infamy was just beginning as pictures of her sprawled atop the drawbridge while wearing a bra, pink tank top and a not-safe-for-work belt buckle made their way all over the globe.

Two bodies were recovered within in the first hours after the crash, but the two bodies of the remaining passengers were never located.

Aboard the plane were pilots Jose Hiram Galvan de la O. and Josue Buendía Moreno and passengers Fernando Senties Nieto and Mariana Gonzalez Isunza. The group had picked up an unknown patient in Costa Rica and flew them to South Florida.

In a distress call, the pilot tells the air traffic control tower, "We have an engine failure," and he requests permission to return to the runway. "We're going to do a 180 and we're going to land," he says. A few minutes later, in response to the tower's instructions, the pilot says, "Mayday, mayday, mayday."

Soto then left the court, climbed into the back seat of a car and flew away into the halls of South Florida infamy.

While we've all grown fond, some would say dependant, of social media as a way to connect with current friends and reconnect with old ones; the world of social media took a dark and morbid turn over the summer.

"I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife," Medina wrote.

Medina then added something that had never before been seen on a popular social media website: a picture of a dead woman; his own wife, Jennifer Alfonso, shot dead.

Police say Medina, 31, then drove to the South Miami Police Department and told officers what he had done, claiming he had acted in self-defense after Alfonso began punching him during an argument. Alfonso's daughter was in the home when her mother was murdered.

Facebook immediately removed the post, but by then it had already been shared by hundreds.

A picture of paranoia and violence began to arise from Medina's past as neighbors said the man kept his windows covered and had surveillance cameras pointed at his front door. Medina also wrote several e-books with long and bizarre titles that dealt with relationships and his experience with aliens.

The Miami Heat have the "Big 3," but this summer they literally needed a big three to keep their dreams alive of a second straight NBA title.

Facing elimination and the disappointing end to a season in which a championship was expected, not purely hoped for; the Heat needed a miracle and Ray Allen delivered.

Boy, did he ever deliver.

The San Antonio Spurs had given the Heat everything they could handle and more throughout the 2013 NBA Finals. And with a 3-2 series lead and a 3-point Game 6 lead, the Spurs were just 5.2 seconds away from taking the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy back to the Lone Star State.

Signed during the previous off-season to provide LeBron James and company with the deadliest sharpshooter in NBA history, Allen's South Florida achievements until that moment had been satisfying, yet a tad underwhelming.

That all changed as the Heat had one final possession to send the game into overtime.

It was a helter-skelter sequence with bodies flying and the ball in LeBron's hands. James heaved up a 3-pointer that shot off the rim. Chris Bosh grabbed the rebound and found Allen heading towards the corner.

After a quick two-step scramble to get beyond the 3-point line, Allen let the ball fly.

Two days later the teams squared off in a winner-take-all Game 7 which, to most, was anticlimatic compared to the game that had preceded it. The Heat were victorious and claimed the back-to-back titles that the team targeted back in training camp.

It's hard to outshine LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the basketball court; but for one night Ray Allen did just that.

All it took was a miracle.

Live car chases have always been a fun diversion to whatever else we happen to be occupying our time with. The thrill of watching the police trail a suspect at high speeds through the city streets often tops even the most exciting of action movies.

But on Sept. 18 we all received a wake up call to the somber reality that lives are at stake and there is no entertainment value in seeing a young mother lose her life on live television.

Antonio Feliu's deadly morning began when he shot two women, Viviana Gallego and Anabel Benitez, at a home in Southwest Miami-Dade. Gallego had been in an estranged relationship with Gallego.

With the high speed chase continuing north on U.S. 27 in western Broward County, Feliu approached a an intersection at Griffin Road. Instead of slowing, Feliu ran through a red light and slammed into a Mercedes-Benz driven by 48-year-old Martiza Medina.

Medina was immediately ejected from the car and her lifeless body remained unattended for several minutes as police focused on Feliu. With Feliu firing shots from his damaged vehicles, a Broward Sheriff's Office sergeant and Miami-Dade officer courageously shielded Medina with their car and then to drove her to a safe area where she was pronounced dead.